Assessing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services
What is PAS 2050?
PAS 2050 is a publicly available specification that provides a method for assessing the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of goods and services (jointly referred to as “products”).
It can be used by organizations of all sizes and types, in any location, to assess the climate change impact of the products they offer.
PAS 2050 is free to download and use.
Why should I use PAS 2050?
While GHG emissions are often viewed at global, national, corporate or organizational levels, emissions also come from supply chains within business, between businesses, and between nations.
Increasingly, best practice has been for organisations to consider impacts beyond their own corporate activities – extending the scope of their “carbon footprints” to include the impacts of the goods and services they produce. PAS 2050 provides a means for this.
PAS 2050 helps organizations:
- Carry out internal assessment of the existing life cycle GHG emissions of their products to identify “hotspots” and related cost/energy saving opportunities
- Evaluate alternative product configurations, sourcing and manufacturing methods, raw material choices and supplier selection
- Devise ongoing programmes aimed at reducing GHG emissions
- Reporting on corporate responsibility.
For consumers of goods and services, PAS 2050 provides a common basis for understanding the assessment of life cycle GHG emissions when making purchasing decisions and using goods and services.
The current PAS 2050 is free to download:
PAS 2050:2011 - Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services
Also available for free download:
Download
PAS 2050 review
BSI reviewed and updated PAS 2050 two years after the publication of the original document. The revision was undertaken to:
- Clarify ambiguities that have become apparent in the application of the standard
- Take account of advances in knowledge and understanding that have emerged since PAS 2050 was first published
- Reflect user experience as much as possible
- Enhance the level of take-up and application of the PAS 2050 methodology
- Align the PAS 2050 methodology and its use in conjunction with other internationally recognized footprint methods (particularly the ones developed by The World Resources Institute/ The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WRI/WBCSD) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
The continued co-operation with organisations such as WRI/WBCSD, ISO and the European Commission throughout the PAS revision process ensures that the revised document reflects international PCF theory and practice, and brings the methodology and its use towards alignment with other internationally recognized footprint methods to promote best practice and harmonisation of standardization effort.
The new revision makes the PAS 2050 methodology more relevant and accessible to a wider range of businesses by addressing key queries and issues raised by the PCF community, as well as the experiences of users since the standard’s first publication in October 2008. Some of the significant changes arising from the revision are: provision for the development and application of ‘supplementary requirements’ to enable more specific greenhouse gas emissions assessment within sectors or product groups; the inclusion of emissions from biogenic sources (e.g. biomass); and greater clarity on the treatment of recyclable material.
Revision of PAS 2050 Guidance document
The 2008 Guide to 2050 has been updated in line with the changes to PAS 2050. The guidance is more interactive and includes additional examples. The updated Guide to PAS 2050:2011 is available for download.
ISO and WRI initiatives
Since the publication of PAS 2050 in 2008, both ISO and WRI/WBCSD have embarked on a programme to add quantification of emissions from products and services to their portfolio of specifications.
ISO is currently developing ISO 14067 Carbon footprints of products, covering quantification and communication requirements (publication date to be confirmed), and WRI/WBCSD has developed a new Product Accounting and Reporting Standard.
The most recent drafts of the GHG Protocol Product Standard and ISO 14067 were still works in progress at the beginning of the PAS 2050 revision process but were made available for comparison with PAS 2050 to the Steering Group. To facilitate this, arrangements were made for experts participating in the development of both these documents to also participate in the revision of PAS 2050.
For more information on these two initiatives and their relationship with the revised PAS 2050, see:
ISO 14067
WRI and WBCSD initiative
PAS 2050 Horticulture Project
“PAS 2050 has been available since October 2008 and has been widely used as a means of quantifying the carbon footprint of a wide range of goods and services. The PAS has been shown to provide a generally applicable quantification method but there is increasing evidence that carbon footprinting could be enhanced for some product categories through the provision of additional category specific rules to supplement the generic provisions of PAS 2050 in a uniform and consistent manner.
To facilitate this, the revised PAS 2050 introduces a framework to permit the coordinated development and use of such additional sector specific requirements that can be applied in conjunction with PAS 2050, to deliver quantification outcomes that are both credible and widely accepted.
BSI is currently working with Productschap Tuinbouw (PT) and Ministerie Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (LNV) in the Netherlands on a project to develop a protocol that will provide such supplementary requirements for the horticulture industry.
An investigative workshop was held in the Netherlands on 19th November 2010, attended by 35 experts from 9 countries. From this workshop a group has been formed to undertake the drafting of a new publicly available specification PAS 2050-1, Supplementary requirements for the application of PAS 2050 to horticulture products, which will be made available for expert review and public comment before publication later this year.
PAS 2060 Specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality
Demonstrating carbon neutrality will make an even greater impact on your customers and stakeholders, and even less on the earth.
By achieving carbon neutraility, you'll be joining industry leaders in environmental responsibility.
As well as showing you how to demonstrate neutrality, PAS 2060 can also help you lower your environmental impacts, save money, and it clarifies the terms and processes involved.
Read more
PAS 2050 Workshops
1,8, 9 February 2012, London & Manchester
How to carbon footprint your goods and services
PAS 2050 workshops for beginners and advanced. Attend these complimentary events to enhance your knowledge of PAS 2050.
BSI will host three one-day PAS 2050 workshops in 2012, with two workshops to be held in London and one in Manchester.
Read more and book now
